BOCA RATON, Fla. — A local insurance company said it’s concerned about losing business after a new rule implemented by the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department requires individuals wanting to register a car with a foreign passport to have documentation illustrating lawful presence in the United States.
Those trying to register a car with a passport must originate from the United States, or have an unexpired passport issued by the government of another country with a mark affixed by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Other valid documents include an unexpired I-94, a current permanent resident card and an unexpired immigrant visa issued by the DHS.
Previously, people only needed a valid foreign passport.
Rosana Giani and Adelio Deassun, who own Novus Insurance in Boca Raton, said a good percentage of their business comes from undocumented migrants. They say the new policy makes it harder to get additional business and serve customers, who have already paid for services.
State
How is this new rule regarding car registration impacting vehicle sales?
“The plates that we had to deliver to our customers, we couldn’t deliver because it was sent back,” Giani said. “They changed the rules and they didn’t let anybody know we have new rules.”
They also said if a migrant’s car is totaled and they are insured, this new policy won’t allow them to move the registration to a newer car without the proper documentation.
“Let’s get your car out the mud and try to fix that [totaled] car,” Giani said. “Yeah, it’s a nightmare.”
Both Deassun and Giani said the policy has cut their business by about 60% because people are scared to renew their registration even if they are grandfathered in under the old policy.
“I’m afraid of how I’m going to pay my rent next week,” Giani said. “…We’ll start selling popsicles. I don’t know.”
The married couple are thinking about closing their business after 24 years or moving to another state like California.
Three different local car dealers, who said many of their clients are undocumented migrants, told WPTV’s Ethan Stein they are struggling to sell cars after the new policy went into affect in September.
WATCH: WPTV spoke to owners of car dealerships, who say the rule is losing them sales
Michael Melendez, owner of Mike Auto Sales, estimated his sales have dropped 75% over the last month. He said the administrative rule, which requires no new law to go into effect, is making it more difficult to sell cars to undocumented migrants even if they are past customers.
“They are great, hard-working people,” Melendez said. “Recently, someone came over, who had purchased a car from me previously and he didn’t know about the [rule]. I said, 'Listen, I’d love to sell you another car and I can’t. I’m losing all this business. It’s driving me nuts.'”
The rule was not passed by legislature, but created by a state agency overseen by the governor’s office. Emails WPTV obtained show the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) asking county tax collectors on Sept. 5 to implement the rule starting Sept. 23, giving car dealers only two weeks to adjust to the rule.
WPTV reached out to the FLHSMV, who directed us to documents published on the Florida Administrative Code and Administrative Register’s website. Those documents show the state thought the policy was needed to “provide clarity regarding documentation” for the term “valid passport” in state law.
“The purpose of this rule is to provide clarity regarding documentation to be presented prior to the registering of a vehicle,” the document said. “The effect will be to allow the department to ensure compliance with state law when processing an application for a vehicle registration.”
The state also said they believe the law wouldn’t harm small business or increase regulatory costs by $200,000.
